(The) Rock and Roll Waltz

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"(The) Rock and Roll Waltz" is a popular song. The music was written by Shorty Allen and the lyrics by Roy Alfred in 1955.

The song is told from the point-of-view of a teenager who comes home early from a date, and catches her parents attempting to dance to one of her rock and roll records; only, having no frame of reference, the couple tries to waltz to the music.

The Kay Starr recording of the song, made in 1955, reached the #1 position on the Billboard chart in 1956, staying there for six weeks. The recording was released by RCA Victor as catalog number 47-6359. It was Kay Starr's first recording of great significance for RCA Victor after leaving Capitol Records, She had a number of lesser chart entries om RCA in 1955 including "Good and Lonesome" and "Turn Right". She thought it was a joke when the A&R staff at RCA Victor picked it for her; it was so different from what she was used to recording. Although it was a #1 hit and a million seller, and she has come to love the song with the passage of time, it was never a song people requested her to sing at any live performance in the days of its popularity.

Another version was later recorded by Ann-Margret in the early 1960s.

Preceded by "The Great Pretender" by The Platters

Billboard Top 100 number-one single (Kay Starr version) March 3, 1956 (3 weeks)

Succeeded by "Lisbon Antigua" by Nelson Riddle